With the idea that Jean would receive better treatment for her epilepsy, the family returned to the United States. Twain had stated in the New York Herald, October 15, 1900, that he had departed the U. S. as a "red-hot imperialist" but had returned home an "anti-imperialist". Much of the family's time was spent finding a comfortable place for Livy, who's health was always fragile, and seeking treatment for Jean. They resided, for the most part, in New York City but also spent time at Saranac lake, Riverdale-on-the-Hudson, and at Quarry Farm. They finally took Livy to Florence, Italy where she died in June of 1904. The family would return to New York July 12, 1904.

Following the death of their eldest daughter, Suzie, the family went into a self-imposed exile in Europe for the next four years. Much of this time was spent chasing about Europe and England, seeking cures for their ailments and treatments for Jean's epilepsy.

Part of H. H. Rogers' strategy for returning Mark Twain to wealth was to have him pay-off all his debts by taking a lecture tour around the world. The tour would also result in his book "Following the Equator". The book does not include that portion of the tour across the northern tier of North America. Sam, Livy and daughter Clara, accompanied by Major Pond, who managed this portion of the tour, and his wife, started from Cleveland; crossed the Great Lakes; through the Prairies; over the Rocky Mountain and the Cascades to the Pacific Northwest. From there the family crossed the Pacific Ocean to Australia, visited New Zealand and went on to India and South Africa. Ending the tour in England, they discovered that Susie, the eldest daughter who'd stayed in Hartford, had died from Spinal Meningitis, effectively sending the family into a self-imposed exile of mourning. But Sam's debts had been effectively paid off, thanks in large part to the efforts of Henry Huttleston Rogers.

Sam Clemens and his family wandered about Europe from June of 1891 to May of 1895, seeking cures for their aches and pains; schooling for their children; and some relaxation. Sam was in rather dire financial straits but it was during this period that he became acquainted with Henry Huddleston Rogers, who along with his secretary, put Sam back on the road to financial stability. This effort required Sam take several trips across the Atlantic while his family remain in Europe.

The Clemens family had their longest period of residency at their Hartford Home on Farmington Avenue, from September of 1879 to June of 1891. They spent their summers in Elmira with Mark Twain writing in his octagon at Quarry Farm. The summer of 1890 found them in the Catskills and by June of 1891 Sam had decided the family needed to economize, so they moved to Europe.

Sam wrote to his mother that the distractions of life in America were too interruptive of his writing, so he decided to relocate to Europe "until I shall have completed one of the half dozen books that lie begun, up stairs.". Part of this period was spent in the company of Joe Twichell, in the guise of Mr. Harris in the book "A Tramp Abroad". Sam and his family spent most of this time in Germany and Switzerland but also visited France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England before returning to Hartford, Connecticut.

The Clemens family moved into their home in Hartford, CT September 19 of 1874. It served as their official residence until Sam took his family to Europe in March of 1878, not to return until October 24, 1879. During this first period of residency, Sam did not sit still but made several trips, primarily to New York City and Boston. The family took summer vacations away from Hartford: 1875, Newport, Rhode Island; 1876 & 1877 at Quarry Farm. In May of 1877, Sam and Joe Twichell visited Bermuda, Sam's second visit to the island.

Sam, Livy and Langdon moved to the Langdon home in Elmira and Sam would walk to the Quarry Farm house, "a mile & a half up a mountain, where I write every day" on his book "Roughing It". In October of 1871, they moved to the Hooker House in Nook Farm, on the western side of Hartford, Connecticut. This was a period of a somewhat unsatisfactory lecture tour, three trips to England, the birth of his first daughter, known as Susie, and the building of his Hartford Home on Farmington.

Sam Clemens believed he had found respectability, fame, wealth and success. He married into wealth and a woman he would love the rest of his life. His father-in-law had purchased a mansion for him and part ownership in a newspaper. But he chafed at the daily grind. There had been only one job in his life he truly enjoyed, being a river boat pilot. Also, a number of problems and tragedies struck. Olivia became pregnant, but was devastated when her father was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died on Aug. 6, 1870: Emma Nye, a dear friend of Olivia’s who was visiting, was stricken with typhoid fever and died in their home Sept. 29: Finally, their son, Langdon, was born prematurely Nov. 7, frail and sickly, and Olivia fell ill with typhoid herself.

A busy time for Sam/Mark Twain: He wanted to turn his travel letters into a book. This required a return to California, and a second crossing of the Peninsula, to convince the Daily Alta California to allow his use of the letters they had published of his Quaker City journey. He, again, lectured in California and Nevada, crossed the Peninsula a third time and returned to New York. Sam wished to be considered respectable, something more than a "Western Humorist". This he gained, along with a marriage into a wealthy family. While working on publishing his new book, he again toured throughout New York and the Mid-West on his American Vandals Abroad tour.